Trace, No. 69 (1968) – Extremes

Journal Issue

Published in 1968, no. 69 of Trace gives readers several clear ways into the magazine. It contains 197 named pieces or sections, beginning with The Existentialist Ordeal of Michael Fraenkel—II by Will Slotnikoff, Towards Print by James Boyer May, and (words: in Our Time, &. That opening offers a direct path through the issue, but it is not the only one. A reader can follow the printed order, pause over a familiar contributor, or start with a title that catches the eye. No special background is needed. The magazine explains itself gradually through the choices it makes and through the company each piece keeps.

The Existentialist Ordeal of Michael Fraenkel—II by Will Slotnikoff gives Trace no. 69 its clearest point of entry, while Towards Print by James Boyer May and (words: in Our Time, & widen the issue’s field. Dated 1968, this expansive number contains 212 pieces or named sections, moving between writing about literature, creative work, reviews, correspondence, and the everyday work of a little magazine. The order matters: recurring editorial features sit beside contributions with their own aims, so the magazine feels like an exchange among writers rather than a stack of unrelated pages. The reader’s edition makes that sequence easy to follow; the private source facsimile preserves the cover, page design, advertisements, visual material, and directory information that locate the writing in its first publication. Together, the reading edition and private source record show James Boyer May keeping a place for new writing while also showing how independent magazines found one another.

The contents page also works like a small map. Early entries establish the issue’s first set of voices; around the middle, A Relevant Rebuttal from Venezuela changes the view; the closing stretch reaches The 1968-69 Address List. The works differ in length, subject, and manner, yet their placement creates connections that a simple list of names cannot show. The pleasure comes from those changes. A short piece can clear the air after a longer one, a new voice can redirect the mood, and an unexpected title can make an earlier page look different when the reader thinks back to it.

The contributor list includes A. Fredric Franklyn, Abigail Ann Hamblen, Adrienne Marcus, Albert E Perks, Albert Schofield Knorr, Anais Nin, Ann Menebroker, and Arvind Mehrotpa, along with 121 additional contributors. Some readers will arrive looking for a particular name; others will meet these contributors here for the first time. Either approach works. The publication details add useful context: the issue was edited by James Boyer May, published by Villiers Publications Ltd., and issued from London, England; Hollywood, California (editorial office). A journal is also a made object, assembled by people deciding what to print, how to order it, and which voices should share a number. Reading from beginning to end lets those choices appear naturally.

The catalog subjects—Little magazines, Experimental literature, Poetry, Fiction, and Literary criticism—are useful starting points, especially for searching, but they do not set limits on what a reader may find. For a first visit, begin with The Existentialist Ordeal of Michael Fraenkel—II by Will Slotnikoff, turn next to A Relevant Rebuttal from Venezuela, and finish with The 1968-69 Address List. The clean reading edition is designed for that kind of movement. Original scan: 228 PDF pages. Reader’s edition: 214 PDF pages. It keeps the contents in a stable, legible form and makes names and titles easier to find. A source facsimile remains part of the project’s private editorial record, but it is not included in the public upload. What appears here is the reading copy: a practical way to spend time with the issue and discover which pieces invite a return.

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Contributors

A. Fredric Franklyn — Essayist
Abigail Ann Hamblen — Essayist
Adrienne Marcus — Contributor
Albert E Perks — Contributor
Albert Schofield Knorr — Contributor
Anais Nin — Essayist
Ann Menebroker — Contributor
Arvind Mehrotpa — Poet
Barry N. Schwartz — Contributor
Benjamin A Kerner — Contributor
Bird Mother — Contributor
Bobbi Sherman — Contributor
Brown Miller — Contributor
Bruce Cook — Fiction writer
Carol Hole — Contributor
Catherine Savage — Contributor
Chaim Mendelson — Contributor
Charles Goldberg — Contributor
Christopher Schreiber — Contributor
Clarence Major — Contributor
D. M. (New York) Pettinella — Contributor
Daniel Eigerman — Contributor
Dennis Schmitz — Contributor
Don N Smith — Contributor
Donald Freed — Contributor
E. F. Casebeer — Fiction writer
E. I Louch — Poet
Edward Pharr — Poet
Elizabeth Gourlay — Contributor
Elizabeth Louch — Contributor
Elizabeth Snowdon — Contributor
Emily Katharine Harris — Contributor
Eric Ratcliffe — Contributor
Felix Pollak — Poet
Felix Singer — Contributor
Florence Lewis — Contributor
Gene Fowler — Contributor
George Dillon Slater — Contributor
Gerald Locklin — Contributor
Gharles Goldberg — Poet
Gil Orlovitz — Contributor
Greg Kuzma — Contributor
Guy Owen — Contributor
H. Dumas — Fiction writer
Hans Jüergensen — Contributor
Helen Luster — Poet
Herbert Morris — Contributor
Hitler and Mussolini while — Essayist
Hugh Fox — Contributor
Irving Benig — Poet
J ••• Theodore Sloane — Essayist
J. Chester Johnson — Contributor
Jack Lindeman — Contributor
James Boyer May — Essayist
James D. Bertolino — Poet
James Hearst — Contributor
James Hiner — Fiction writer
Jay Bail — Fiction writer
Joan Miller — Poet
Joanne de Longchamps — Poet
John Fowler — Contributor
John Hideyo Hamamura — Poet
Jolin ,Tagliabue — Poet
Jon — Contributor
Joseph Martinek — Poet
Karen Koshgarian — Poet
Kenneth Bernard — Contributor
L. Stanley Cheney — Contributor
L. VAN BRUNT — Contributor
L. W Michaelson — Poet
Laurence Goldstein — Poet
Lawrence Hoey — Contributor
Lawtence Bartb — Poet
Lee Pennington — Poet
Lisa Ybunt — Poet
Locklin Gerald — Contributor
Louise Louis — Contributor
Louise Webb — Contributor
Lyn Lifshin — Poet
Marek Skwarnicki — Contributor
Marion Schoeberlein — Poet
Martin Steingesser — Contributor
Martin Tucker — Poet
Mary Graham Lund — Contributor
Mary Jean Irión — Contributor
Mary M Dorrian — Contributor
Mary Nordseth — Contributor
Maude Rubin — Contributor
Michael Franks — Poet
Michael Gregory — Contributor
Michael Miller — Poet
Michael T Durden — Contributor
Murilo Mendes — Poet
Murilo Mendes I ' — Poet
N. H. Taylor — Fiction writer
Neil Myers — Poet
Paul Lavigueur — Contributor
Philip Hammial — Contributor
Phyllis Rose — Contributor
Pritish Nandy — Poet
Richard Mathews — Poet
Richard Shelton — Contributor
Robert Louis — Poet
Robert Lowry — Poet
Robert Peters — Contributor
Robert Reilly — Contributor
Ronald B. Koertge — Contributor
Ronald Silliman — Contributor
Seamus Finn — Contributor
Simon Perchik — Contributor
Stanley Noyes — Poet
Sylvia Roth — Artist
Theodore Kitaif — Contributor
Theodore Sloane — Contributor
Thomas Fitzsimmons — Contributor
Tom Galt — Contributor
Tom McNamara — Contributor
Virginia Palmatary Moseley — Poet
Will Slotnikoff — Essayist
William Doreski — Contributor
William J Margolis — Poet
William Matthews — Poet
William Packard — Contributor
William Pitt Root — Contributor
with Master S. O’Loone — Contributor

Publication details

Journal: Trace
Volume: Not recorded
Issue number: 69
Issue date: 1968
Editor: James Boyer May
Publisher: Villiers Publications Ltd.
Place of publication: London, England; Hollywood, California (editorial office)
Language: English
Pagination: Original scan: 228 PDF pages. Reader’s edition: 214 PDF pages.
Record ID: ttj-trace-69-1968

Full contents

The Existentialist Ordeal of Michael Fraenkel—II — Will Slotnikoff [Essay, p. 14]
Towards Print — James Boyer May [Essay, p. 31]
(words: in Our Time, & [Contribution, p. 300]
Years Ago) — James Boyer May [Contribution, p. 31]
Escape — Martin Steingesser [Contribution, p. 35]
Editors (and others) Write [Correspondence, p. 36]
We Are They (Isn’t It Wonderful?) [Contribution, p. 36]
Regarding Acanemia, Street-itis, Cclm & other Jabberwocky [Contribution, p. 39]
To Edit — Or Not to Edit [Contribution, p. 39]
The Poet as Translator — Gene Fowler [Contribution, p. 41]
Apostle of Life: Robert P. Tristram Coffin — Abigail Ann Hamblen [Essay, p. 47]
James Hiner [Contribution, p. 56]
The Missile (Missal) is the Message — James Hiner [Fiction, p. 56]
An Interview [Interview, p. 56]
Quality Book Production [Contribution, p. 62]
The Reason [Contribution, p. 63]
In Memory of Christopher Perret — Bird Mother [Contribution, p. 64]
Tragedy in ragtime for five instruments [Contribution, p. 69]
H. P. Lovecraft [Contribution, p. 81]
Richard Ii Forty [Contribution, p. 84]
Tunnel of the Century [Contribution, p. 87]
Portrait [Contribution, p. 97]
High Society, Iowa City, Iowa [Contribution, p. 99]
The Lake — H. Dumas [Fiction, p. 100]
Mendelssohn’s Italian & the Spring of 1964 — E. F. Casebeer [Fiction, p. 104]
The Mannequins — Jay Bail [Fiction, p. 109]
Jay Bail [Contribution, p. 119]
Jay Bail [Contribution, p. 123]
A gathering of haiku four — Jolin ,Tagliabue [Poem, p. 131]
Promethean Fragment — Donald Freed [Contribution, p. 132]
The Jew of Frankfurt — Bruce Cook [Fiction, p. 134]
Porter, What Is This Thing Called Love and Mad About the Boy [Contribution, p. 146]
Someone Else [Contribution, p. 153]
A Film Sketch, by N. H. Taylor — N. H. Taylor [Fiction, p. 155]
Smoke and Little Fire — Martin Tucker [Poem, p. 165]
Decline & Fall (once Again) of the Short Story — L. W. Michaelson [Contribution, p. 166]
One of Our Small Wings Is Missing — Gharles Goldberg [Poem, p. 170]
Keeno to Cannes: a Journey — A. Fredric Franklyn [Essay, p. 171]
A Poet, & the Alchemy of Love — Anais Nin [Essay, p. 197]
In Unknown Lands — J ••• Theodore Sloane [Essay, p. 199]
The Lovers — Kenneth Bernard [Contribution, p. 202]
CHARACTERS: Adam, Evie. Both are in their mid-twenties Neither is very attractive, but this is in part the result of dress and attitude rather than poor features — Kenneth Bernard [Contribution, p. 202]
First performed at The Actors’ Studio, 432 W. 44th St., New York City [Contribution, p. 211]
Eric Cashen: Two Fears . . . Drive . . . & . . . a fragment [Contribution, p. 211]
Aarons, Hilda (california): the End of Confusion [Contribution, p. 214]
Adamson, J. J. (washington): Strawberry [Contribution, p. 215]
Aragon, Louis: Offertory (tr. by Rosemary Wells-marie) [Contribution, p. 216]
Richard Ii Forty (do.) [Contribution, p. 216]
Bail, Jay (california): the Mannequins [Contribution, p. 217]
Banks, Russell (north Carolina): to Give the Lie [Contribution, p. 218]
Barth, Lawrence (new York): Winter Afternoon, 1923 [Contribution, p. 219]
Behrendt, Steve (Wisconsin): untitled poem [Poem, p. 219]
Benig, Irving (New York): autopoe m [Contribution, p. 219]
For raymond — Irving Benig [Poem, p. 219]
un poèm c’est bien peu de chose [Contribution, p. 219]
Bernard, Kenneth (new York): the Lovers [Contribution, p. 220]
Bertolino, James D. (wisconsin): Bird Mother [Contribution, p. 221]
Bitts, Jerry A. (illinois): the Teachers’ Party [Contribution, p. 222]
Blei, Norbert (illinois): the Letter Carrier [Contribution, p. 223]
Brown, Bruce Bennett (kentucky): Great Stone Fireplace [Contribution, p. 224]
Old Conversation [Contribution, p. 224]
View from the Field [Contribution, p. 224]
Bruce, Lennart (california): My Business [Contribution, p. 225]
The Commission [Contribution, p. 225]
Burns, Jerry H. (california): Mole Watching [Contribution, p. 226]
Butcher, Grace (ohio): Some Sort of Death [Contribution, p. 227]
Calhoun, D. (new Mexico): the Accident [Contribution, p. 228]
Candelaria, Frederick (Canada): A FABLE FOR RAT PSYCHOLOGISTS, ADMINISTRATORS, & MANIPULATORS [Contribution, p. 228]
Carter, Boyd (missouri): Space [Contribution, p. 229]
Casebeer, E. F. (indiana): Mendelssohn’s Italian & the Spring of 1964 — E. F. Casebeer [Fiction, p. 229]
fragment [Contribution, p. 229]
Castle, Frederick (New York): Youth Is Power One [Contribution, p. 229]
Chaffin, Lillie D. (kentucky): Letter : a Detachment [Contribution, p. 230]
Cheney, L. Stanley (california): the Day Seems Bloated [Contribution, p. 231]
Claire, William F. (District of Columbia): Some Notes on the Southeastern Little Magazine Conference [Contribution, p. 231]
Contoski, Victor (Wisconsin) (Tr. fr. the Polish of Marek Skwarnicki): LESSON & THE ROAD TO EDEN [Contribution, p. 231]
The Same Cowboy Rides Again [Contribution, p. 231]
Cook, Bruce (maryland): the Jew of Frankfurt [Contribution, p. 232]
Cooperman, Stanley (Canada): ‘A Call for Poets to Stop Apologizing . . .’ [Contribution, p. 232]
Cummings, Steve (canada): Family Portrait [Contribution, p. 233]
Dalton, Dorothy (wisconsin): This Wooing of Strangers [Contribution, p. 234]
Daruwalla, Keki N. (india): Aftermath [Contribution, p. 235]
The Pebble Heap — a fable [Contribution, p. 235]
Routine [Contribution, p. 235]
untitled poem — Karen Koshgarian [Poem, p. 235]
D’Lott, Barry (New York): ONE OF THE INTIMATE MEMOIRS of Alvin Edward Cooper [Contribution, p. 235]
High Society, Iowa City, Iowa [Contribution, p. 236]
After the Rose, the Sand [Contribution, p. 237]
Capital Punishment [Contribution, p. 238]
My Neighbor the World [Contribution, p. 239]
That Time of Day [Contribution, p. 240]
The Cabbage [Contribution, p. 241]
The Lake — H. Dumas [Fiction, p. 242]
Epitaph [Contribution, p. 243]
Someone Else [Contribution, p. 244]
Regarding Acanemia, Street-itis [Contribution, p. 245]
Songs Taught, Songs Untaught [Contribution, p. 246]
very dark [Contribution, p. 247]
The ‘Overlapping Informal’ Academies [Contribution, p. 247]
The Poet and the 20th Century [Contribution, p. 248]
Poet as Translator [Contribution, p. 249]
The Joke of Life [Contribution, p. 250]
A Relevant Rebuttal from Venezuela [Contribution, p. 251]
Sur-rebutterl on Latin American Mags [Contribution, p. 252]
Deadlier Than the Plot! [Contribution, p. 253]
Keeno to Cannes [Contribution, p. 254]
Rome Boat Thing on Its End [Contribution, p. 255]
Poem for my wife [Poem, p. 256]
Roethke — Michael Franks [Poem, p. 257]
Tragedy in ragtime [Contribution, p. 258]
Promethean Fragment — Donald Freed [Contribution, p. 259]
Time Caught Us by the Forelock [Contribution, p. 260]
One of Our Small Wings Is Missing — Gharles Goldberg [Poem, p. 261]
Aubade [Contribution, p. 262]
H. P. Lovecraft [Contribution, p. 263]
Against the Dark [Contribution, p. 264]
The Need to Write [Contribution, p. 265]
Dive for Dreams [Contribution, p. 266]
Village on the Seashore — John Hideyo Hamamura [Poem, p. 267]
Apostle of Life [Contribution, p. 268]
Edward Albee [Contribution, p. 269]
Poetasting [Contribution, p. 270]
The Last Concert [Contribution, p. 271]
The Strongest Magic [Contribution, p. 272]
The Missile (Missal) Is the Message — James Hiner [Fiction, p. 272]
Ikon [Contribution, p. 273]
Drosophilia Melanogaster [Contribution, p. 274]
Frau Heinz [Contribution, p. 275]
Letter from the Unmagic Street [Contribution, p. 276]
TO W. K. (1919-1945) [Contribution, p. 276]
untitled poem — Karen Koshgarian [Poem, p. 277]
Confessions [Contribution, p. 278]
How Now Next Time? [Contribution, p. 279]
In the Underground Station — Ronald B. Koertge [Contribution, p. 280]
The Women [Contribution, p. 281]
untitled poem — Karen Koshgarian [Poem, p. 282]
Taking the Stones [Contribution, p. 283]
Message in a Bottle [Contribution, p. 284]
good wood burns well and is none the less consumed [Contribution, p. 285]
3:30 in the life of an intelligent man [Contribution, p. 286]
That February [Contribution, p. 287]
Love and Death in the Early Poems of Walter Lowenfels [Poem, p. 288]
To Edit — Or Not to Edit [Contribution, p. 288]
A Lively Museum of Youth and Desire [Contribution, p. 289]
The Opening — Helen Luster [Poem, p. 290]
Excerpts from a Novel in Progress [Contribution, p. 291]
For Who(m) May Be Concerned [Contribution, p. 292]
Paragraphs [Contribution, p. 293]
The Lions [Contribution, p. 294]
Morning (do.) [Contribution, p. 295]
Tunnel of the Century (do.) [Contribution, p. 296]
Anti-war Poetry [Contribution, p. 297]
The Thief [Contribution, p. 298]
Icon Twenty Four [Contribution, p. 299]
Lament [Contribution, p. 300]
Stop and Rest [Contribution, p. 301]
A Poet, & the Alchemy of Love — Anais Nin [Essay, p. 302]
The Evening [Contribution, p. 303]
Bombers and Mrs. Bunjes [Contribution, p. 304]
Numbers: 69 [Contribution, p. 305]
Numbers: 103 [Contribution, p. 306]
Numbers: 104 [Contribution, p. 307]
My Successful Novel: Two Sides [Contribution, p. 308]
(of the story) [Contribution, p. 308]
Poetry in the Theatre — Vi [Contribution, p. 309]
Man in Universe — Lee Pennington [Poem, p. 310]
untitled poems — Karen Koshgarian [Poem, p. 311]
(War Picture at the Drive-In) [Contribution, p. 311]
Probably No Good for the Magazine? [Contribution, p. 312]
Spiropanosome: a bacteriological tragedy [Contribution, p. 312]
on trying to write — Robert Peters [Contribution, p. 313]
Emigrant [Contribution, p. 314]
Morning — Helen Luster [Poem, p. 315]
Tunnel of the Century [Contribution, p. 316]
Portrait [Contribution, p. 317]
Vienna 1967 [Contribution, p. 318]
The Poet & the Community [Contribution, p. 319]
Northern California [Contribution, p. 320]
End of a Season [Contribution, p. 321]
A Domestic Animal [Contribution, p. 322]
Apo Etsp Rogr Ess [Contribution, p. 323]
Still Life with Bottle [Contribution, p. 324]
The House of the Mind Is a [Contribution, p. 324]
House of Cards [Contribution, p. 325]
Whitnall Park [Contribution, p. 326]
XXV [Contribution, p. 326]
The Other Track [Contribution, p. 327]
‘In the Rain’ [Contribution, p. 327]
Every Celestial Body Loves Saturday — Barry N. Schwartz [Contribution, p. 328]
Night [Contribution, p. 328]
Golden Horses [Contribution, p. 329]
Once More with Feeling [Contribution, p. 330]
Legacy [Contribution, p. 331]
When Honesty Is Policy [Contribution, p. 332]
Some Notes on Hiroshima Mon Amour [Contribution, p. 333]
There Are Moments [Contribution, p. 333]
The Road to Eden [Contribution, p. 334]
Lesson [Contribution, p. 334]
The Rape of the Spider of [Contribution, p. 335]
Vera Cruz [Contribution, p. 335]
In Unknown Lands — J ••• Theodore Sloane [Essay, p. 336]
The Existentialist Ordeal of [Contribution, p. 337]
Michael Frankel [Contribution, p. 337]
A Box of Three [Contribution, p. 338]
(by artists) [Contribution, p. 339]
(by authors of books reviewed) [Review, p. 339]
(by playwrights, scenarists, directors . . .) [Contribution, p. 339]
The Chronicle [Reference, p. 340]
Photographs [Artwork, p. 341]
Drawing and Photographs [Artwork, p. 342]
Photographs [Artwork, p. 343]
The 1968-69 Address List [Reference, p. 344]

Rights and citation

Rights in the individual contributions and the periodical compilation have not been fully resolved.

Trace, no. 69 (1968). Text/Tech Journals reader’s edition, 2026.